Abstract. A matrix-valued measure Θ reduces to measures of smaller size if there exists
a constant invertible matrix M such that MΘM∗
is block diagonal. Equivalently, the real
vector space A of all matrices T such that TΘ(X) = Θ(X)T
∗
for any Borel set X is nontrivial.
If the subspace Ah of self-adjoints elements in the commutant algebra A of Θ is nontrivial,
then Θ is reducible via a unitary matrix. In this paper we prove that A is ∗-invariant
if and only if Ah = A , i.e., every reduction of Θ can be performed via a unitary matrix.
The motivation for this paper comes from families of matrix-valued polynomials related to
the group SU(2) × SU(2) and its quantum analogue. In both cases the commutant algebra
A = Ah ⊕ iAh is of dimension two and the matrix-valued measures reduce unitarily into
a 2 × 2 block diagonal matrix. Here we show that there is no further non-unitary reduction.
Key words: matrix-valued measures; reducibility; matrix-valued orthogonal polynomials